Laura Nadeau is the creator and owner of Lo & Co Makeup Artists, specializing in creating a fun and fabulous community for brides or any woman who wants to step-up her beauty routine. In addition to her own blog, The Down Lo, Laura shares her insight and advice on bridal beauty secrets right here, every week.
Dear Lo,
Like every other bride, I want to look "perfect" on my big day, and I'm tempted to hire someone to do my make-up for me, but we are getting married in the middle of nowhere. Finding someone to travel without having a huge budget has been an issue, so I think I'll end up doing it myself. The problem is I rarely wear make-up. I'm just WAY to tired/lazy in the morning to do anything with my face before I head to work, besides slather on some Neutrogena Tinted Moisturizer and Clinique High Impact Mascara. So, needless to say, I'm NERVOUS. There are so many products and now there are HD formulas added to the mix to create even more confusion for me!! I have no problem investing in quality make-up, but since I have no idea what I'm buying most of the time I end up not liking it and getting discouraged. Ugh!
People say my eyes are my best feature, so I want to try and play those up for the big day, but I've tried applying fake lashes before and had a terrible time (I'm a blinker when things get too close to my eyes!). I could be hopeless.
~ Chelsey
Chelsey,
You are too cute! You look really great without makeup and it will be easy to make you look even more "natural" for your wedding. First of all, your eyes are gorgeous and you have great skin and bone structure. Let's just even out your skin tone and a little definition and dimension. I love your inspirational photos and this is what I refer to as a "classic eye". It is all about a sheer shimmer shadow and a tight liner across the top of the lid. False lashes can add extra glam. I did this eye on Carissa in a previous post which has a detailed product list. The only difference is doing a pink lip instead of a deep berry.
I think this will be a great complement to your halter style dress and summer wedding venue. However, since you don't wear a lot of makeup we need to see how comfortable you are with this eyeliner. I want you to go to a Bobbi Brown, M.A.C. or Stila counter with these photos and ask an artist to show you how to do this eyeliner. All of the aforementioned brands have a gel liner that is perfect for this and easier to use than liquid liner. I recommended trying a dark gray liner instead of black - it will be a little softer. For the lip try out some of the Bobbi Brown pink glosses layered over a lip pencil. I love Bobbi's Petal, Pink Beige, and Rose Sugar gloss. I have used these on countless brides over a neutral lip pencil. You can adjust the color with the lip pencil. If you want more pink go with a pinker liner or if you want more depth use a darker pencil under the pink gloss. Experiment and find what you feel best in. Finally, if you feel that the liner is too strong you can smudge the liner and soften the look. Simply apply a medium gray shadow (M.A.C's Print shadow) on a small eye shadow brush and blend it into the liner. This creates a smudged smoky line which many women feel more comfortable in. There is no perfect look for everyone; it is all about what you feel best in. Trust your gut and don't worry, as an expert I guarantee you are going to look gorgeous no matter what!
xoxo,
Lo
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